Urgent to speed up the reform of the nautical qualifications

In Spain we can´t waste the opportunity to promote the use of boats and make the enjoyment of nautical activities easier, and to facilitate the acquisition of nautical qualifications, without unreasonable demands and complexities. Paving the way right from the start, simplifying the access to a Nautical Certificate (equivalent of the current "titulin"), rationalizing the theoretical part of all the qualifications, reducing the practical lessons and demands on the content of radio communications - specially  for the most popular qualifications like PER - will benefit the whole sector.

That´s the way to go according to AEGY (The Spanish Superyacht Association, AENIB (The Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearic Islands), ANAVRE (The Recreational Yachtsmen´s Association), CME (the Spanish Maritime Cluster), The Marine Council of CEOE (The Spanish Confederation of Employer´s Organizations) and FEAPDT (The Spanish Federation of Associations of Tourist Marinas), who together with ANEN (The National Association of Nautical Enterprises) join their forces to reclaim the urgency to speed up the parliamentary processes necessary for ratification of the Ministerial Order of the reform of the nautical qualifications.

Burning of a "llaüt" angers the nautical sector

Burning of a llaüt on a bonfire during the recent celebrations of Sant Antoni in Manacor has put the best part of the balearic nautical sector on war footing. The act was deemed deplorable and indicative of "lack of necessary culture to understand the relevance of the elements that are part of the maritime heritage of the Balearic Islands".

The boat was part of a bonfire built by a group of residents participating in a competition of bonfires organized by the town hall in conjunction with this year´s celebrations.

This episode has mobilized the sector to demand the creation of a maritime museum through a manifest written by the Association of the Friends of the Maritime Museum of Mallorca (AAMMM), to which have adhered organizations like the Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearic Islands (AENIB), the Association of the Yachts Clubs of the Balearics (ACNB), the Recreational Yachtsmen´s Association (ANAVRE), the Mediterranean Yachtsmen´s Association (ADN), the Association of Lateen Sail in Mallorca, the Balearic delegation of the Spanish Naval League and the Spanish Superyacht Association (AEGY).

Marina Estrella strengthens its capital with new investors

Marina Estrella, a leading yacht brokerage, distribution, charter and yacht maintenance company of the nautical sector in Spain has reinforced its shareholding structure with the entrance in the company of the French investment fund Hoche Partners and new shareholders.

The entrance of Hoche Partners and new Spanish shareholders supports the company strategy started two years ago of profound restructuring, reform, professionalization and modernization, led by the CEO Francisco Rivas. The French fund and the new Spanish shareholders become the principal shareholders of the company as they will jointly hold the majority of the capital, previously in the hands of the founding Estrella family.

Rivas, who in previous professional phases has been the CEO of Rodman, the president and founder of ANEN (the National Association of the Nautical Enterprises), and a management consultant and strategist for many important companies in various sectors, has been ratified in his position at the head of the company.

"The confidence placed in us by the new shareholders will drive us forward towards the new challenges in the new phase opening up for Marina Estrella", assures Francisco Rivas. "These challenges consist mainly of consolidating our leading position in the import of the yachts of our nine brands: Azimut Yachts, Atlantis, Magellano, Benetti, Hanse, Moody, Sacs and Minorchino, both in Spain and in Portugal, and in our activities of brokerage, charter and services. In addition to these we are making a stake in international development and management of marinas, with various projects in the phase of evaluation. We are very satisfied with the incorporation of the new shareholders, which means an injection of capital and strengthening of our strategic plan".

The European Commission publishes the new directive for recreational vessels

The European Parliament and the European Commission Directive 2013/53/UE of 20th of November related to the recreational vessels was published in the official agenda of the European Commission on the 28th of December 2013. At the same time the Directive 94/25/CE concerning the jet skis was also published.

The member states have until the 18th of January 2016 to incorporate these directives into their internal legislation. The companies can certify their vessels both with the old and the new system until the 17th of January 2017, from which date on only the new system will be valid.

You can download the complete text of the new directives behind the following link:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:354:0090:0131:ES:PDF

Free consulting service by CAEB for efficient prevention of occupational hazards

The normative regarding the prevention of occupational hazards is complex and can be problematic to interpret. The owners of small and medium size companies as primary responsible should know first hand what their obligations are and how to manage the risk prevention issues in the most efficient and profitable manner. For this reason CAEB will offer during 2014 a personalized consulting and tutoring service, of either general or specific character, in matters of risk prevention at work.

This service will include a visit to the company by a senior consultant, who will conduct an interview with the entrepreneur or with a delegate, revise the risk prevention actions taken so far and inspect the records kept. Based on the questions brought up and insufficiencies detected, a report with recommendations will be drafted.

The future Law of Maritime Navigation: ANEN defends the interests of the nautical sector at CEOE

On the 9th of January the National Association of the Nautical Enterprises (ANEN) participated in the meeting of the Spanish Confederation of the Employers Organizations (CEOE), reported NAUCHERglobal which is also a member of this organization. The main objective of the association was to demand a better legal position for the nautical sector within the framework of Draft of Law of the Maritime Navigation.

In the meeting, the general secretary of the association, Carlos Sanlorenzo, presented and justified the changes suggested to the text of this law, which no doubt will have a great impact on the future of the nautical sector in Spain. The proposal by ANEN had been prepared in cooperation with the Spanish Federation of Associations of Tourist Marinas (FEADPT), and was well received and accepted by those present. This support is of great importance when it comes to final decision about the definite wording of the said law.

The other members of the organization also presented their allegations, one of the more important amongst them being the one related to the notarial process that has been planned to solve the serious problem of abandoned recreational vessels. 

The rest of the allegations concentrated basically to regulate specific aspects of the nautical sector in the new legal framework, with the purpose of granting the sector judicial stability and differentiated treatment from the activity of maritime transport. All these allegations were accepted by the members of CEOE.

Report by Naucherglobal

Recreational Yacht Market Report 2013: registrations grow by 2,7% in the last quarter of 2013

ANEN has recently published the Spanish Recreational Yacht Market Report 2013, based on the data provided by the Direction General of the Merchant Navy, main points of which are summarized in continuation. You can find the complete document behind this link.

- Despite the fall by -19,46% of the annual total, the registrations of recreational yachts stabilize in the second half of 2013.

- in December 2013, always a quiet month for the sector, the situation is confirmed with a slight fall of -4,5% of registrations compared to the result in December 2012.

ANEN presents the “dos and don’ts” that the national and international nautical sector should know after the exemption of the matriculation tax on recreational charter vessels came into force

The elimination of the matriculation tax on recreational charter yachts as well as on those used in nautical schools came into force last October , when the law change was published in the official state bulletin (BOE).

ANEN, as the instigator of this measure – with a collaboration of AEGY (The Spanish Association of Superyachts) and AENIB (The Association of Nautical Enterprises in the Balearics) have considered it absolutely necessary to prepare a Decalogue that lists and clarifies the requirements and conditions that the beneficiaries of the exemption should know and comply with.

As ANEN has been involved in the conception of the new normative right from the beginning, counting on the valuable experience and collaboration of Miguel Angel Serra from the Garrigues Abogados, Leon von Ondarza from Fuster Abogados and Mestre Abogados, it has acquired a profound knowledge of the new regulations. Therefore ANEN and the team of collaborators are in the best position to offer the nautical sector this practical  guide which will facilitate the access to the exemption and answer the questions that have caused most confusion after the law change.

At the  same time the Decalogue  will continue the debate started during the Charter Forum organized by ANEN during the last edition of the Barcelona Boat Show.

The Garrigues Abogados is currently preparing an English translation of the document. As soon as we receive it, we will pass it to our associates by e-mail. In the meantime you can find the original document here.

The long overdue reform of the nautical qualifications

On the threshold of the reform of the nautical qualifications, which is an indispensable step for the future of the recreational yachting in Spain, we - as the defendants of the interests of the sector, have the obligation to look ahead and continue on the path we set out on in 2010.

Then, becoming aware that the Spanish nautical sector could not carry on ignoring the development in the sector elsewhere in Europe and in the world, at ANEN we started the battle with the Administration to plan and defend the necessary and inevitable reform of the nautical qualifications.

With an out-dated and inadequate normative that didn´t correspond with the reality of our enterprises or the aficionados, neither national nor international, we were not navigating on the right course.

After years of work and negotiating with various representatives of the Administration, we have managed to initiate a law change that will finally allow us to harmonize our nautical qualifications, which will also increase our competitiveness and number of devotees - objectives we all within the sector agree upon.

Programme of international commercial missions 2014

As in previous years, ANEN will coordinate with the help of ICEX a programme of international commercial missions for the spanish nautical enterprises.

For this purpose, we are going to inform you about different alternatives that we are evaluating, in order to make a programme that suits your necessities and preferences.

As you know, ANEN manages the events in cooperation with the organizing companies in order to get the best possible conditions, and coordinates the appointment and meeting schedules in order to make your participation in each of these missions as effective as possible.

Attached to this information you will find the documentation of each of the initially planned fairs (China International Boat Show in Shanghai, Cartagena International Boat Show, Rio de Janeiro Boat Show, Dubai International Boat Show and Yacht & Boat Korea). However, participation in other fairs can be proposed and studied, according to your needs. Please get in touch with Mercedes Nieto and Jose Luis Fayos for more information and to book your space in the planned fairs.

More information in ANEN.

Letter from the President - January 2014

The year 2013 that we leave behind was “big” in many ways. Twelve months of intense work that has resulted in triumphs but also made us taste the bitter chalk of disappointment. All in all, by December we have assisted in 137 events, including meetings with politicians, working groups, boat shows… Countless hours invested in one sole objective: your wellbeing as an entrepreneur. By joining our forces we have been able to break historic barriers that prevented us from prospering and making changes that would allow us to grow. We made progress, thanks to your support and our membership in ANEN, whose persistence and good work has been one of our biggest assets.

What made the biggest waves was the exemption of the matriculation tax on charter boats. It used to be an insurmountable obstacle for a lot of people who wanted to come to our islands to sail and to enjoy the unrivalled environment, one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. We can still hear the echo of Rosa Estarás asking the European Commission to pronounce against this tax in Spain (which it ended up doing). However, our battle is not finished until the tax is withdrawn from all recreational vessels. Until then we´ll be at a disadvantage compared to our competitors. In any case, we are sure that starting from next season we´ll see the Balearic Islands climb on the ranking of the best nautical tourism destinations to a position that actually corresponds to us.

Another wall that came tumbling down was the old Law of Maritime Navigation. A more than 100 year old lump of a law that didn´t distinguish a merchant ship from a yacht. For the first time ever the recreational yachting will be recognized as a separate entity in a legal aspect. To achieve this, a great amount of both human and economic resources were necessary, in elaborating extensive reports that would accurately reflect our reality in order to make the Administration aware of the need of a change in our sector. The new Draft of Law promises to be the tool to simplify our daily business activities and to finally put us in sync with the international legal framework.

Balearic Islands has the largest share in the recreational yacht market

Balearic Islands is the Autonomic Community with the largest representation on the recreational yacht market with a 12,35% of the total, ahead of Barcelona (9,64%) and Madrid (7%).

However, these three main national markets all experienced a fall when it comes to the number of yacht registrations: -17% in the Balearics (482 vessels), -44,2 in Barcelona (376 vessels) and -5,86% in Madrid (273 vessels).

The sector of the recreational yacht market in Spain falls for the sixth consecutive year in 2013, with a decrease of 19,46 percent in yacht registrations in 2013, a fall marked by the bad results of the first half of the year (-28%). This tendency was inverted in the last quarter of the year with a rise of 2,7%.

The information compiled the Recreational Yacht Report in Spain, edited by the National Association of Nautical Enterprises (ANEN) on the basis of the data collected by the Direction General of the Merchant Navy and published this Thursday, points towards a stabilization of the market.

The recreational yacht registrations fell by 19,46% in 2013

The recreational yacht registrations were 3.902 in total during 2013, which is 19,46% less than previous year, although a slight increase of 2,7% was witnessed during the last quarter of the year, informed the National Association of the Nautical Enterprises (ANEN). According to the statement by ANEN, the fall of registrations - for the sixth consecutive year - was due to the bad results during the first half of the year, when the registrations fell by 28%.

The reversal of this tendency during the last months of the year suggests an end to the fall of the sector and a stabilization of the market. However, this increase was a result of a point of inflection in October (274 registrations compared to 236 in the previous year), as in November and December the registrations fell again slightly compared to the same months the year before. The recreational yacht registrations have fallen from 12.617 in 2007 to the current 3.902.